Stay safe in the surf

with new emergency beacons

Locals and holiday makers at a number of popular beach locations on the Central Coast will be able to swim a little safer with new lifesaving technology now installed at The Entrance Channel, Budgewoi and Pearl Beach.

9 August 2023

 

WHEN every second can mean the difference between life and death, new Emergency Response Beacons (ERBs) will give visitors at unpatrolled beaches a link to lifesaving services during emergencies.

 

ERBs means someone who might witness a coastal emergency can connect directly to the Surf Life Saving NSW (SLNSW) State Operations Centre (SOC) where the nearest lifesavers, lifeguards or other emergency service can be notified and activated to respond.

 

Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said, “Australia has some of the most enviable beaches in the world and who doesn’t love a beach vacation or a dip in the ocean on a sunny day.”

 

“It is important to understand local conditions as they can change quickly, which is why it is always important to swim safely and within your abilities.”

 

“But when things do go wrong, we want to make sure people on our beaches and our emergency services are best equipped to respond.”

 

“These new beacons provide an extra set of eyes on the beach and will help live savers respond and save lives, whether it’s swimming, rock fishing or boating.”

 

A camera fitted to the ERB can be remotely monitored by the SOC to provide operators with information about the incident which can be shared with the local Surf Life Saving team to respond including deploying jet skis, inflatable rescue boats, volunteer callout teams from nearby surf clubs, lifeguards, helicopter and even drone services.

 

These life-saving devices are solar powered and connect to the 4G network which means they are online and powered up when needed.

 

The new installations follow a beacon installed at Snapper Point in 2021 and bring the total number of ERBs in high-risk or blackspot locations to 32 and will help to reduce the response time for emergencies along the NSW coastline.

 

Minister for Emergency Services Jihad Dib said, “Australia has some of the most enviable beaches in the world and who doesn’t love a beach vacation or a dip in the ocean on a sunny day.”

 

“It is important to understand local conditions as they can change quickly, which is why it is always important to swim safely and within your abilities.”

 

“But when things do go wrong, we want to make sure people on our beaches and our emergency services are best equipped to respond.”

 

“These new beacons provide an extra set of eyes on the beach and will help live savers respond and save lives, whether it’s swimming, rock fishing or boating.”

 

Member for Swansea, Yasmin Catley said, “Locals and tourists love to enjoy our beautiful beaches. This beacon will give them extra peace of mind that help is available, and nearby, if they get into trouble.”

 

David Mehan, Member for the Entrance, said that our lifesavers and lifeguards can’t be everywhere at once, so these emergency beacons are about expanding the reach and making every effort to protect swimmers at unpatrolled locations.

 

Matt Slattery, President of Surf Life Saving Central Coast remarked that the newly installed ERBs are a great support to our volunteer lifesavers on the Central Coast. .

"The technology allows us to respond sooner to incidents and emergencies and will help us to save many more lives," Mr Slattery said.

 

Member for Gosford, Liesl Tesch said,  “It is technology like this that we are proud to see rolling out, to ensure beach users across the Central Coast are as safe as possible.”

 

“Local community members are all too familiar with the devastating impacts of drowning incidents at Pearl Beach and I am happy to see action taken to protect the community in our high-risk beach blackspots.”

 

For more information about the beacon locations, please visit: Emergency Response Beacons - Surf Life Saving NSW